Thursday, June 28, 2012

We used to go visit my cousin in Chicago. I thought my cousin Josh was super cool, and I
still do. I have so many fond memories
of him. We spent hours together playing
sports, video games, or hanging with our families.

We were there for one Fourth of July. We headed to the park to watch the fireworks. The wind was pretty terrible that day, and it
blew firework pieces on us. I remember
feeling the burn of the fireworks. I was
not thrilled with this. I looked at my
aunt and told her how I felt, but she kind of passed on it. I was like, “Hey, I am getting burned here.”
Ok, I never said it out loud.My polite
boy side would not allow that. That was
one of the few times at their house I could have run for home.

Home is different for each of us. There are so many things that help us feel
comfortable and at home. Some of those
things are found in our family homes, in our church, or in some other thing
that brings us comfort.

What is home? Is it
true that “Home is where the heart is?” In
a week where we reflect upon our country and everything God has given us, what
makes us feel at home? What would be the
one thing, if it were missing, just would not be right?

When my mom married my step-dad, Rod, she married a younger
man. Shhh, don’t mention that I said
that. It’s because she is so young at
heart, that’s why! (Love you, Mom). Regardless, as a result, I got a lot of cousins
that were younger--a lot younger. I was fifteen
years older than Austin.
So I was this high schooler who loved to
play with my little cousins, but didn’t think I had made such an impression on Austin. Every year my brother and I would take our
summer money and put on a fireworks show for our family. It was a blast--some of the greatest memories
of my life! I didn’t know what an impact
that had on Austin.

I moved on to college and was gone a lot, but managed to be home
for most 4th of July holidays, so once again, my brother and I put
on a great fireworks display. When I was at the seminary my Grandma told me
that every year Austin
was sad if I was not there to do the fireworks. Who knew that kid’s feeling of
home was our fireworks show! Weird, I
thought.How did that event become
something he found so necessary? But as I
thought about it, we created a lasting tradition that he counted on and
enjoyed.

Jairus, in the Gospel reading from Mark for this Sunday, was
a powerful man. He probably had control
over a lot of things in his life. But
one thing he didn’t have control over was the life and death of his daughter. When his daughter died, his world and his home
were rocked! He was in shambles, and he
ran to Jesus for help.

What is your home? Do
you feel peace this Independence Day, or is your home in shambles? What does Jesus want for your home?

This week at Mt.
Calvary we will talk
about home. A reading from the Old
Testament will help us really understand home and what Jesus wants for us.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Some of you may wonder why is it that my blog has this man
playing the guitar on top of it. The
hard copy this week had a newer picture of him to help you understand what I am
talking about.

That man became one of my favorite artists back in college. His guitar music and unique lyrics drew me to
some deeper thinking in life and about myself. John Mayer still does that for me today. I
find the expression of a person’s heart in music, art or words to be unique. I am specifically intrigued by music. It has played so much into passionate moments
in my life. We handed out a CD at our wedding
as our favor.When our first son, Jacob,
was born I made a CD for his arrival. Most
recently the song heard at installation, sung by the young man from my previous
youth ministry, was one that touched the hearts of Mindy and me as we prepared
to give Abby so much, but knew that only Jesus could give her everything.

I have always wanted a soundtrack for my personal life. You
know--God playing all the right songs at all the right moments. Last Sunday’s
beginning would have been a very creative and exciting song anticipating the
future. But this week’s song really falls
into the category of one of my favorite hymns. I told Kristen
Schade, our organist, that we could not play my very favorite
hymn at my installation and she asked, “Why?” I said, “Stricken,
Smitten and Afflicted was not installation appropriate.”

This week I gave Kristen free reign to pick whatever songs
she wanted. You should have seen her eyes.It was like seeing Carlos Beltran watch a ball coming right over the
plate; or a reporter who caught a killer story first; or a pastor with an hour
to give a sermon. Anyway, I found it
appropriate to give a musical good-bye with some awesome hymns to a family that
has blessed this congregation so much. I
thought what better time to talk about how God blesses and grows us in our faith
with unique tools. Music has always been
a tool with which God has blessed His people.

It is shocking to me to think of a church reformer like John
Calvin who was anti-music. I wonder how he could not envision the wonderful way
music touches the hearts of men and women. Martin Luther, on the other hand,
took bar songs or common tunes and used them for hymns. Ray Charles did the
reverse when he took common Gospel tunes and changed them into pop hits.

A song immediately can take me back to where I was when I first
heard it:

Let Her Cry, by
Hootie and the Blowfish takes me back to playing Madden football on our Sega
Genesis at my house with all my buddies.

Love Song for No One,
by John Mayer takes me back to my best friend’s dorm room, as Adam Lucky came
in to show me this new artist.

Build Me Up Buttercup,
by the Foundations takes me back to the wedding of one of my friends from
Seminary, where he wore his bow tie and danced with his brother. Two good southern boys dressed up and dancing
with a graceful lack of rhythm.

Finally, Stricken,
Smitten, and Afflicted, takes me back to my home church at the 7 p.m. Lenten
service. It was just dark enough in the
sanctuary to feel the gloom and sadness. Only the choir lamps in the balcony were on,
and for a minute I could feel the darkness that the people of Israel must
have felt crucifying our Lord.

This week we talk about how God uses music, with the words
of Scripture to bless, nourish, and encourage us in our daily journey with Him.
You will hear how the hymns and a few
current songs take the words of Scripture and put them in a format with emotion
and feeling. How has God blessed you
with music in your life? How has it made
you think about stuff in your own life? How
does music affect your memories? How can
music help us to communicate the wonderful message of Jesus to people that need
to hear it?

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Patiently waiting for God to take us on our new journey!

As a young boy, I sat in the pews
of my home church, closely observing my pastor as he faithfully and diligently
proclaimed the Good News of God’s saving love and grace.I can remember watching and learning from
him.I thought his family was so cool,
and I could see how lovingly he treated them.I knew then that I wanted to become a pastor, and I wondered what it
would be like.I was getting ready for
my time now.

Through the years I have watched
my pastor transition from being senior pastor to being retired; and yet he is
still helping in ministry. His sermons often involved deep, challenging
messages, as well as reflections on God’s goodness to him during his
ministry.Both of these styles impacted
my life.

While his transition was going,
on my wife and I were becoming the team and family for which I had prayed.In 2007 I became a pastor, and for the past
five years I have devoted much time to youth work.It was a challenging calling because youth
continually moved in and out of the ministry, but God was at work.

My wife, Mindy and I have spent
the last five years learning how to love one another through the ins and outs
of life and ministry. At the same time
we learned how to be parents to our three wonderful children. God was at work.

When I received the Call to Mount Calvary,
the person I had to talk to was the much respected and well liked Pastor Z. [I
have to admit I was nervous for our meeting.] I just randomly called him up and
asked him to meet with me to talk about my newest Call. Pastor Z shared a wonderful story about his last
five years at Mt.
Calvary.He explained that during that time, he saw
the passion in the hearts of the members as they shared the love of Jesus with
others.He said God has worked on them
to shape Mount Calvary for new things and new
journeys.God was at work.

And suddenly…

There we were—our family spending
time in Branson the week before I was installed at Mount
Calvary.It was our first family vacation without
extended family there in some form or fashion.We had a great time at the wax museum, taking pictures of our children
with all those famous wax statues.Mindy
got a birthday present at the outlet; Jacob swam with a chipmunk that had
gotten knocked into the baby pool; Gavin showed us how to play mini golf by
dragging the club; and Abby stole the hearts of many with her hair bows and
dresses. I sat back, feeling overjoyed as a father and husband while
experiencing a wonderful vacation with my deeply loved family.

And suddenly God has brought us to this moment!

I drove into the parking lot, soaking
up every moment as my car rolled up the drive.This is the church to which God has called me.It seemed unreal; the interview, the call
papers, and now today.That moment I had
dreamed of as a boy was here!My work
with youth had been a constant process—learning how to connect with youth, and
how to care for them.God did so much
teaching in the past five years, and suddenly when he was finished teaching me
about our youth culture, he brought me to this moment.

Pastor Z shared another story of
a lady who was struggling with the fact that he was leaving Mount Calvary.She implored, “But Pastor Z, how can you
leave us--you brought us to this moment--like through the wilderness?”

Pastor Z replied, “I may have
brought you through the wilderness, but now you finish the story.”

As I heard this, I thought about Mount Calvary’s
journey.It was an overwhelming feeling
to know that I was called to serve the wonderful people of Mount Calvary.

And suddenly…

God brought Mindy and me and all
of Mount Calvary to this moment.

Pastor Vern and Pastor Kyle have
led you on an amazing journey as you prepared for the next pastor.They have taught you, loved you, cared for
you and shared the wonderful words of Jesus with you.

And suddenly . . .

God used all of that to bring us
to Sunday.It was a joyous moment
celebrating the work God has done in each of us over the last five years.I wish each of you could have been at the
front of the church with me as I watched those “Hanke Hankies” being
waved!I was overjoyed, and felt your
joy as well!

It is that joy that will bring us
here to celebrate God’s wonderful Word and Sacraments.Together we will share in the joyous moments,
as well as in the difficult moments.We will
share in God’s forgiveness and in reconciliation.We will share in inviting and welcoming new
people into our church family.

And suddenly . . .

God’s work will be done by His
grace and mercy.I look forward to many
years of growing in faith with you, and in sharing our faith with this
wonderful community that surrounds Mount
Calvary.